


A Hopeful Dream

by orphan_account



Category: Dan Vs., Final Fantasy X
Genre: Angst, Cuddles, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eskimo Kisses, Fluff, M/M, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-05 03:03:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17316851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Dan Vs. Characters in the Final Fantasy X world. Imposter Dan is named Clarence. Major plot twists ahead.





	1. Flash Friendship

Clarence awoke with a startling gasp, flapping his arms wildly as he realized he was afloat in murky water. The jolt of panic sent through his body caused him to constantly dip underwater. “Help,” Clarence knew to call out, waving his arms desperately. It was like he had woken up from a deep sleep only to discover himself in a body of water. In his panic, he clung to a nearby platform made of debris, breathing hard. Now that he could observe his surroundings, Clarence took everything in.

A greyish, stormy sky was cast over flooded ruins. The platform he rested his torso and arms on appeared to be a broken piece of an ancient structure. That, or this place had rapidly deteriorated, because it was _dilapidated_. After a minute of looking around, Clarence swam straight ahead, through the dirty water, his eyes on a tall cathedral-like building ahead. He headed there because he hoped it would have food and warm shelter. 

Although, realistically, a place that looked abandoned wouldn’t contain those things. Despite that, Clarence kept swimming, his body cold and straining itself to move. _I feel like a popsicle,_ he mused grimly. Within about ten minutes, he reached a staircase. It was not a staircase leading into the structure, but one that led to a bridge. The bridge appeared to quite unstable, cracks and all. Clarence took a deep breath as he inched towards it. 

Quickly, Clarence bolted across the bridge, which was high above a pool of the murky water. _WHOOSH!_ Stone collapsed beneath his wobbling legs and plunged him into the water. “Agh! This. Is. Horrible!” Clarence shouted, desperately avoiding the continuously falling rocks. It was incredibly miserable to experience his body temperature plummet all over again. The rocks stopped falling shortly. Freezing and exhausted, Clarence prepared his body for death as his moving stilled.

Rumbling caused the water and earth alike to shake. Shivering, Clarence frantically looked in all directions. A large creature, with a skeleton-like form, emerged from the pool. With a mighty roar, it charged at Clarence. No matter how cold he was and how tired his legs were, adrenaline possessed him to escape. Practically pouncing into an open passageway, Clarence entered a sunken structure with an opening far too small for the monster to get into. 

For about two hours, Clarence laid on a damp internal staircase in exhaustion. It was hard for him to conjure enough energy to move after expending it all on survival. With time, he brought himself upwards, a feeling of vertigo shooting through him as he stood. Moments later, he headed deeper into the desolate and wet building, the atmosphere becoming even more isolated. 

Clarence came into a room that was much larger than the narrow staircase. It was shaped like a sphere and adorned with scary-looking statues that he didn’t understand. Sitting down in the center of this room, he breathed desperately and held himself tightly. The attempt to maintain warmth wasn’t very rewarding, and Clarence closed his eyes in defeat. _I am going to die here,_ he believed hopelessly. 

Suddenly, a monster leapt down from the ceiling of the tall spherical room, lunging at Clarence. “H-Huh?” He cried, utterly defenseless and confused. The monster was slender, standing on four legs, with blade-like hooves. Running towards Clarence, it struck him with the sharp tip of its hoof, drawing blood from his chest, and tearing the black, wet, sleeveless vest he had been wearing this whole time. He cried again, but this time in both pain and fear. “Somebody, please, help me!” He pleaded.

One of the walls exploded open, revealing a team of strangely clothed individuals. They wore gas masks and yellow-red uniforms, equipped with bladed rifles. An especially agile member of the team who stuck out by wearing black jumped at the hooved beast, striking it with a claw. Then he threw a grenade at it, grabbing a grateful Clarence up.

“Thank you, I thought that I was going to die!” Clarence barely breathed before announcing his appreciation. The agile savior didn’t answer, and instead turned to their armored teammates. 

“Ec ed y veaht?” Said one of the masked people. Clarence scratched the back of his head, wondering if they were using words he didn’t know.

The person in the black suit seemed to respond. “Hu, E tuh’d drehg cu!” Clarence realized that they were speaking in a language that he didn’t understand.

A new voice spoke in the unfamiliar tongue, “Fa lyh'd pa cina. Ghulg res uid. Fa'mm pnehk res fedr ic.” And with that, the black-suited one seemed to approach the meek, crouching Clarence. 

“Cunno.” He whispered, before raising his arm and smacking Clarence unconscious.

***

“Urgh, my head…” Clarence groaned, returning awake, body temperature now chill instead of freezing. He was laying down, limbs outstretched. His stomach ached with hunger. He quickly sat up and saw that he was on a metal ship, drifting across the bluish-black sea. “Hello? Is anyone here?” He called, the deck completely barren. Clarence stood up, his entire body weak from hunger and overexertion. A door leading into the subsection of the ship flung open, and out walked three masked people and the same black-suited savior.

Desperate, Clarence begged, “Can you get me some food? I’m starving and I need to eat.” This was met by a man in goggles and no mask waving at him and shaking his head.

“Fung vencd. Ayd yvdan.” The man in goggles flapped his arms and spoke, accentuating his blue-colored torso tattoo of flames.

Not understanding, Clarence shook his head. He began to feel lonely and alienated from the language barrier. “Look, buddy, I really don’t know what you’re saying.” The goggled man seemed exasperated, groaning and walking away.

Turning a head towards him, the black-suited one spoke. “He says you’ll have to do a job first if you want to eat.”

Eyes wide in relief, Clarence smiled at the one in black and nodded. “You!!! You can understand me!” He acknowledged thankfully. 

“Mhm!” They said in response, uncovering their face. Once uncovered, it appeared to be a hook-nosed boy with hair that extended further on the right side of his face. “You can call me Dave,” he informed a happy Clarence.

Just knowing that someone understood what he said made Clarence so happy. Not too long ago, he remembered waking up with no recollection of where he was before. Moreover, he didn’t remember much of anything beyond his own name. “Thanks, Dave. So what is this job you were talking about?” Clarence asked, fully confident and feeling rejuvenated.

Dave pointed to the deep, dark ocean. “There is ancient machina beneath this ship. We have anchored here so that a team, that team being you and me, can go below the water and investigate the machina. We want to see if it works.” Clarence felt like he knew what Dave was talking about. He remembered that machina were basically just much more advanced machines.

Nodding, Clarence said, “Okay. Let’s do it.” As fast as he could confirm, Dave handed him an a uniform equipped with an oxygen tank. Clarence awkwardly hid behind a metallic shed nearby, removing his damp clothes to make way for the uniform. He squirmed into the outfit and stretched his arms as he prepared to start swimming. Invading Clarence’s privacy, Dave peeked around the shed and waved at him.

“Almost dressed?” He asked, startling Clarence severely and making him jump.

Clutching his heart, Clarence slowly squinted his eyes and took a deep breath. “Hey! You scared me!” Clarence seethed at Dave’s apparent disregard for his privacy. Instead of apologizing, Dave laughed mockingly. 

Coughing from his giggle-fit, Dave waved a hand at Clarence. “You are so cute,” he said in delight. Somehow, that flattered Clarence. “Now that you’re dressed, come with me!” Dave instructed, jumping off a railless section of the ship. Clarence felt anxious as he watched Dave begin diving, and he could barely manage to set a leg over the edge. While Clarence was distracted, the tattooed one pushed him off with great strength. 

“H-Huh!” Clarence yelped, heart leaping once he crashed into the ocean. Succumbing to the ocean’s chill, he dove down and tried to catch up to Dave. In the distance, piranhas seemed to swarm around an underwater building. It was extremely deep, so much so that Clarence worried he would need a pressurized suit to reach it. He made big strokes towards an opening in the building. Dave was waiting there for him.

Once he reached the opening, Dave pulled him inside and they approached an electric altar. Dave began jamming at the interface with a closed fist in an effort to activate some type of system. The console didn’t seem to be entirely functional. The problem seemed to be the main energy source not being on. A switch an entire room away was probably the key. Dave ushered Clarence over, and they headed to the switch.

Clarence pulled it with all his might, but it didn’t budge. Dave joined in cheerily, offering Clarence a thumbs-up before assisting him in the violent pull. The combined output of power was enough to bring the lever down, and restore power to the electronic altar. Both of the boys returned to the working altar, and they switched on the power for the whole flooded facility. Once the deed was done, Dave patted Clarence’s back, and led him to the surface.

As soon as Clarence boarded the metal ship, he removed the tanky equipment and started gulping up real air. “I felt so claustrophobic down there,” he gasped. Dave took more time to take his gear off and get dressed again. 

“I’ll get you some food in a minute. But after that, I’d like to hear more about where you came from,” Dave planned, smiling in anticipation of learning more about his newfound friend.

“Thanks,” Clarence said graciously. He was glad to be alive. Ten minutes passed before Dave came out of the ship’s shed with a plastic-wrapped sandwich. Happy to finally eat, Clarence took the sandwich and hastily unwrapped it. He was already taking a bite by the time Dave started talking.

“Sorry I hit you. My friends here thought _oui_ were a fiend,” Dave explained remorsefully.

Clarence swallowed a thick sandwich piece before he could speak. “We?” He curiously asked.

“Oh sorry! In Al Bhed, _oui_ means you,” Dave chirped.

Clarence felt even more confused than before. “I’m sorry, Al Bhed? …” 

Dave seemed downright dumbfounded Clarence didn’t know of the Al Bhed people and their language. Leaning over the ship’s railing and staring into the ocean, he sighed. Clarence felt bad for a moment, and then he finished his sandwich in an uncomfortable silence.

Clarence felt ignorant and uneducated about practically everything. He barely even understood the one person on the ship who spoke english. Clarence joined Dave, leaning on the rails and brooding. He timidly gazed at the endless expanse of really dark-blue water. He coughed and then broke the silence, “I’m sorry that I don’t know about the Al Bhed. I don’t know much of anything, actually.” Dave seemed to nearly reflexively turn his head to Clarence.

“What?” It was all Dave could muster to say in his state of alarm. Clarence was scared by Dave’s reaction to his confession.

Rubbing his right arm, Clarence let go of the railing. “I don’t even know what a fiend is. I barely understood what a machina was. Maybe it was the context clues.” Clarence admitted shyly.

Dave seemed immensely mystified by this. “Did Sin get to you?” He asked in concern.

It felt like all of the air was pushed out of Clarence. “See, it’s so bad that I still don’t know what you’re talking about…” His answer visibly shook Dave even more. Dave was clearly confused by everything Clarence had said.

“It’s like you’re not from Spira,” Dave murmured at the unsettling idea, giving Clarence a piercing look. Clarence frowned after he realized something bigger. He had no memory of where he came from. He couldn’t recall where he grew up, who raised him. Or even where he was educated. All of this was beyond him. 

“It’s okay Dave. I guess... I have amnesia.” Clarence was surprised he knew of concepts like amnesia, that he knew how to swim and the like. But nothing of his childhood would appear in his mind. Closing his eyes, he tried really hard to remember, to summon a mental image of his family.

Dave cringed at this, laughing. “What’s your name, anyway?”

Clarence brought a hand to his chest, right over his heart. Somehow, his name was one of the few memories that survived. “I’m Clarence.” He could at least tell Dave confidently that one thing. That his name was Clarence.

“Well, it’s relieving you know what to call yourself. You must have gotten way, way too close to Sin. And once you did, his toxin practically deleted a chunk of your memories.” Dave looked upon Clarence with pity, forming a weak smile at how sad that must be.

Funnily enough, Clarence had no idea how sad Dave was for him. It was an unfortunate emotional blindness. “What _is_ Sin, Dave?” Clarence pried curiously. 

With even more pain in his expression, Dave gave the sea a forlorn look. In his dejection, he started to speak slowly, as though the words were tied to something traumatic. “Sin is… Sin’s sort of like a big fiend. That thing that attacked you was a fiend, too. But imagine something larger. Nearly five-hundred times larger. And way more destructive. And unkillable.” The topic of Sin seemed to terrify Dave. And seeing the person who single-handedly rescued him from a fiend so jittery made Clarence worried.

Holding his churning stomach and furrowing his brow, Clarence asked, “And you are suggesting that I got close to this thing?”

Dave nodded. “Yes, Sin produces a toxin that deteriorates the brains of those who get too close. But usually it’s temporary.”

This motivated Clarence to try remembering something again. Particularly whether or not he encountered Sin. Nothing came.

It was after that serious conversation that the ship's crew of brave, intelligent Al Bhed offered Clarence a bed. The padded mattress was a phenomenal improvement from the metallic deck of the ship. Clarence overslept, actually, waking up in a vegetated state with a foggy brain. His back hurt from the intense duration of sleep. “Ouch…” he groaned, slithering reluctantly out of the bed. He walked out onto the deck, coming out of the ship’s shed he had slept on the outside of before.

And it all went downhill fast from there.


	2. Familiarize

“SIIIIIIN!” Screamed one of the Al Bhed on the ship. Clarence violently jerked his head to the side, overwhelmed as soon as he saw it. Up in the sky was a gigantic, whalish beast that barrelled threateningly towards the ship. Panic consumed Clarence, because immediately he knew that there was no defending himself against a creature of that size. Dave was nowhere to be seen, either, and Clarence assumed he was still sleeping. Suddenly, the boat began to toss and turn, as if Sin had a gravitational pull. 

Clarence fell horrendously hard against the metal deck. His face stung with pain, and he worried that he broke his jaw. The sound of the Al Bhed men’s cries filled his ears, and weighed down on his heart. Each voice was so desperate to survive. All the choked, tightened prayers for safety made Clarence himself pray internally. He hoped that would survive. 

Once Sin got close enough, a towering wave of dark water swallowed the ship in its entirety.

***  
Everything was pitch black.  
“Honey?” It was a woman’s voice. “I know you can do this.” She encouraged sweetly.  
And with an electrifying flash...

***

Clarence took the biggest gasp for air ever when he woke up in a body of water again. His eyes instinctually shot open, being met by a bright blue, sunny sky. He had been floating on his back for some time, glided along by a gentle tide, completely unconscious. _If I’m alive, there’s a chance that the others are, too,_ Clarence prayed. “Hey!” Someone yelled. He jumped up with a bolt and looked around. In the distance, there was a lovely beach shore, and many people occupied it. But only one had called for him.

“DAN?!” The voice screamed with urgency. Clarence sprung closer to the shore, propelling himself a good distance. Each stroke revealed a more defined image of the people gathered on the beach. Behind them was a sandy hill, decorated with tall, vibrantly green grass and curvaceous palm trees. The voice called again, and this time Clarence could see the person behind it. “Dan, is that you?” Asked a chubby, tall man, wearing an orange and yellow set of clothes. The outfit was sleeveless, with decorated arm-guards and a triangular opening that revealed the belly button; the pants were baggy and yellow, the outfit completed with brown strapped sandals.

“Uh, is that my name? Am I ‘Dan’?” Clarence inquired, puzzled that this man seemed to recognize him. And Clarence was even more confused by the fact that the name this man recognized him with contradicted what he remembered. He crawled onto the sandy land and thanked the luck that got him there. Expectantly, he sat on his knees and waited for the man’s answer.

It did not come. Instead, Clarence was barraged incessantly with questions. “Why aren’t you praying at the temple? Why are you out here? And how come you were unconscious? Did you try to--” the man seemed to interrupt himself, as if he refused to utter something absolutely vile, too upsetting for the human heart. Clarence looked up at the man berating him and nervously initiated eye contact. And suddenly the man’s mouth went from conveying a scowl to a surprised indifference. “Oh. You’re not Dan…” He flusteredly learned, noticing Clarence’s blue eyes and subtle facial differences.

“Clarence, I think.” He breathed heavily out of his nostrils, struck with disappointment that the man didn’t in fact know him.

An outreached hand appeared in front of Clarence’s ducked head. He looked up and took it politely, appreciating the lift-up. He was too weak to refuse help anyway. “My name’s Chris. It’s nice to meet you.” Clarence felt that the change in tone from concerned and peeved to soft and welcoming was a big difference. Just a moment ago, Clarence found the nagging session threatening, and now Chris seemed harmless. “You look rough. How about I bring you up to the village, and you get some grub and maybe take a nap?” Chris said, trying to give Clarence things to make up for grilling him.

Clarence only had the energy to nod. Chris began walking Clarence someplace that definitely led away from the shore. “You ever been to Besaid Island before?” Chris asked kindly, trying to make conversation.

Clarence replied shyly, “I don’t think I have, no.” 

Chris looked back with a grin. “Lucky you! You can try our molluscs for the first time - they’re amazing. Can’t get them anywhere else. Besaid has such diverse edible species of molluscs.” 

Clarence smiled, a little interested, but not too hungry. The thought of Dave being, well, _dead_ , had been bothering him quite a bit. And walking along this trail, listening to Chris rant about food like it was his life, was beginning to make him thinking about such a serious matter. Food talk wasn’t distracting enough to make him switch off that sad part of his brain.

“What’s wrong?” Chris asked, stopping. He looked really worried. Tears rolled down Clarence’s cheeks, but he wiped them off stealthily enough to avoid Chris seeing. 

“Oh! Nothing! I’m looking at all these trees, they’re so pretty.” Clarence lied, forcing a false smile at Chris. Chris seemed to believe him, happily continuing down the trail with Clarence following behind. Truthfully, the island _was_ breathtakingly beautiful. Trees pleasantly scuttled in the wind, making a calming noise akin to that of moving water. The heartache Clarence felt dulled steadily from the equanimity of it all.

Noticing this, Chris felt content that Clarence found the island so wonderful. “I loved growing up here.” He informed Clarence.

“It’s a nice place.” Clarence sighed peacefully. Everything had moved so fast, from the grimy drowned ruins, to the Al Bhed watercraft, to the shore of Besaid. And being here was pleasant. A calm after the storm. The aftermath of a miserable ordeal. Clarence unconsciously rubbed over the throbbing part of his jaw.

“So um…” Clarence coughed, attempting to change the subject. “Can I ask why you were so worried when you thought that I was ‘Dan’?” Clarence peered to the side awkwardly, still shy around Chris. 

Chris gave Clarence a tense smile. “It’s really nothing. Dan is just supposed to be somewhere right now.” The explanation didn’t satisfy Clarence’s curiosity, as he was very concerned about Dan. He wondered who Dan was, and if they really look all that alike. A strong wind suddenly whipped at Clarence’s clothes, and he was reminded of himself. It was just that easy to be lost in the expanse of his own mind. Chris seemed to be hyper-attentive of Clarence’s presence, making sure that he was following closely behind. “We are almost there, and then you can rest, and you can probably fit into some of Dan’s clothes,” Chris told Clarence kindly.

On his legs for too long already, Clarence replied nonverbally, simply nodding. Many sounds were overwhelmingly present, such as the chirps of birds and calls of various animals. Clarence listened to the echoes as they occupied his mind. His legs wobbled weakly as he absentmindedly went in Chris’s general direction. He needed real rest for a moment, an actual meal, and an actual conversation with someone once he satiated those needs. 

“Here we are!” Chris announced abruptly. They had arrived at a circular gate, which opened up to a small looking gathering of huts. There was an sizable central space ｖdividing all of these huts, and in the ground were stone carvings. Admiring the architecture, Clarence absorbed the sight of this village as he hobbled after Chris. “I’ll get you some wine and a plate of steak. You lay down there, okay buddy?” Chris directed, motioning to the inside of one of the huts, specifically nudging towards the bed.

“Thank you, you have been so nice to me,” Clarence said. He appreciated Chris’s tremendous hospitality. He huffed, and threw himself onto the large and wonderful bed. It was covered with a stunningly patterned red and white blanket. Observing the room, he saw a comforter nearby, and pulled towards himself. Getting truly cozy was a relief. The beds on the Al Bhed ship were rather industrial. 

“I’ll be back with a meal. See you soon,” Chris promised.

While waiting, Clarence couldn’t help but be lulled to sleep. The fabric and cushion beneath his back was so comforting he was able to have a dream.

At first, the dream was deceptively happy. Clarence was holding hands with someone he liked. He knew that they were very nice, and that he sincerely loved them. He felt very lucky. After deeply looking at every detail of their hand that he held, he looked up at their face. However, it was extremely blurry and distorted. Uneasiness formed in his chest as he began to soundlessly cry. Tears incessantly slipped down the sides of his face.

A door opened, the door to whatever room they were in. A figure had manifested in the doorway, calling out. “He still hasn’t come back yet…” The figure seemed to warn.

Clarence felt very confused as his blurry lover hummed statically, “But… but it’s been nearly three days…”

With a jolt, Clarence flew out from under the blanket, stretching tiredly in an attempt to wake up as quickly as possible. Bringing a hand to his face, he checked for wetness, feeling relieved that it was dry. “Oh, wow…” He gushed, noticing a steak and glass of wine at the small wooden table left with a note. Before he would greedily consume this food, he read the note.

_Hey! I left this for you, sleepyhead. Sorry, had something to do. Some clean clothes are beside the bed.- Chris_

Clarence’s heart fluttered at how nice this was. Hungrily, he finished the chewy, well-done steak off pretty quickly, taking intermittent sips of the pleasantly tart wine to keep his mouth moist. Then he felt something wrong in the pit of his stomach, other than the bundle of meat he downed too fast. The thing he had heard in his dream, about how it had nearly been three days, replayed again and again in his mind. 

With great haste, Clarence undressed from his stale and musty clothes. Going even faster, he scrambled to stuff himself into the ones eerily close to his exact size beside the bed. He felt refreshed. Clarence exited the hut he had crashed in, rejuvenated and curious about Chris’s whereabouts. Seeing a villager wandering in a circle, he asked, “Can you tell me where Chris went?” 

They pointed a reticent finger at a stone construct towering at the village end. Something about the silence of the villager made Clarence feel mournful. He thanked this stranger and headed towards the building, every step bringing him more and more worry. Mossy, ancient stone was arranged to form a construct so noble and respectable that Clarence swore the building itself was an art piece. But approaching it made him nervous, and a growing trepidation was amplified when he reached the entrance.

Once Clarence was inside, the lighting had changed dramatically. The room was lit by torches, and it was a mix of coppers and red, varying in dark hues. Statues were laid all around in a circular formation, and people prayed at those statues. Directly across from the entrance was a staircase leading to a single mysterious door.

In the center of this room, Chris was talking to a bald, robed man about something. Clarence could only make out so many words, but he could sense distress. “Sir, please…” Chris seemed to plead with the man.

“Is everything all right?” Clarence asked boldly, threateningly baring his teeth at the off-putting robed man. 

“Sorry, I just wanted to see if this man would let me go see the summoner,” Chris said openly, scratching the back of his neck.

Clarence didn’t understand what a summoner was, but he glared at the priest anyway. “If someone is in danger, we should help them! We will go inside whether you like it or not,” he said with no ounce of regret.

Everyone in the temple seem to collectively gasp, and the priest was the most exasperated of all. Even Chris had turned bright red at Clarence’s disrespect. Sweat accumulated at Clarence’s temple, and he apologized. “Uh, I got really close to Sin! I don’t even remember what a summoner is,” he said slowly. The tension that had built in the room seemed to decrease greatly. Surrounding people appeared to be praying now for Clarence’s mental and emotional wellbeing. He appreciated the gesture.

“A summoner is a practitioner of a sacred art. Summoners pray very hard to call upon ancient allies, known as aeons. And all of these statues are of high summoners.” The priest explained.

“And a summoner has been praying beyond the Cloister of Trials, within the Chamber of the Fayth, for about three days now.” He continued.

Clarence’s eyes went big. “That’s crazy! They could get hurt! They could…” A flashing image of Dave’s smiling face formed in his mind. “... die!” 

Clarence did not take no for an answer. He dashed up the carpeted steps and hauled open the door to the Cloister of Trials. Moments before the door shut behind him, he could hear the chaotic and furious reactions of the people.

Right off of the bat, he was very confused. What laid before him was walls in all directions. He noticed a symbol and one wall, however, and reached out to place his palm on it. In doing so, he opened a door on the wall to his right. He descended the staircase that had been revealed, and hoped that he would find the summoner soon. 

Glowing orbs were placed in indents in the walls, and they seemed to require rearranging. Clarence ran a blue orb to an empty slot in a wall covered in symbols. After the orb had been inserted, the wall broke away, and left a small room in its wake. In the room was a glowing pedestal and a shining panel on the floor in front of said pedestal. Clarence inferred what to do, pushing the pedestal perfectly onto the panel. It triggered the room to perform as an elevator, sending him downwards, and deeper into the building.

Here, Chris appeared behind him. “You didn’t have to make a scene like that,” he nagged. Clarence responded with a coy grin, unable to think of a reply. They both entered a large chamber, and immediately saw two other people. A blue, muscular, and furry-looking humanoid creature with a broken horn on his forehead stood solemnly, arms crossed. Beside him was a woman with purple hair, a black leather dress, and a small mole on her cheek. She stared through Chris and Clarence with a calm ferocity. 

“Um, hello everyone,” Clarence whimpered.

Already, the woman’s lips were knit tightly into a scowl. “Chris, who is this?” She asked coldly. 

Chris shrugged while shaking his head, as if to say, _don’t ask me._

“Is the summoner all right?” Clarence said, wondering about their safety.

As soon as he had spoken, a small-framed man, with incredibly greasy black hair, stumbled out into the room. He fell to his knees in great exhaustion. Green eyes met Clarence’s; the two men already exchanged complete eye contact.

“Well, Dan, did you do it?” The woman asked stiffly.

“I’M A SUMMONER!”


	3. Praise and Privilege

“Who are you?” Dan questioned Clarence, his eyes becoming narrowed in suspicion. “And why are you wearing _my_ clothes?” Chris seemed unwilling to advocate for Clarence, remaining still and silent. Clarence felt nervous and shaky as all eyes in the room travelled to him, trying to scan for the unspoken answers.

“I’m Clarence. And your friend, Chris, gave me these.” He said with a bit more confidence than his posture suggested he had. Dan then immediately glared at Chris.

“What, you think I want to help some charity case? Don’t volunteer my possessions like that.” Dan looked back at Clarence rudely, growling, “And he is not my friend.”

“Man, you’re a jerk,” Clarence helplessly blurted. Boldly, he didn’t reach to cover his mouth, or apologize. Reading the room, he noticed that the woman and Chris seemed to disregard Dan’s unmannered behavior.

Even Chris seemed surprised at that, but the biggest reaction came from Dan. He charged down the steps far too quickly and crashed onto the ground with a single slip. Now, Clarence stared at the folded-up man with pity and astonishment. He didn’t expect something so comical from the summoner. In fact, the priest had made summoners sound like responsible old codgers. Yet, Dan had made a first impression highly unlike that description.

“You will have to um, excuse Dan.” Chris politely told Clarence.

 _Excuse Dan? This guy acts like a doofus and screams like a maniac._ Clarence wordlessly refused to “excuse Dan”.

The greasy, sweating, and possibly dehydrated man-child writhed up from his uncomfortable position on the ground. Clarence noticed the blue humanoid in the corner suppress a look of dissatisfaction.

“Dan, this is pretty pathetic for someone with only one aeon,” the woman scorned, obviously angry and tired.

“Shut… up… Elise!” Dan huffed at her as he got to his feet, before unexpectedly wobbling towards Clarence.

“Are you all right?” Clarence worriedly asked.

“Are you all right???” Dan imitated him pettily. “I already forgot your STUPID name.”

Clarence rolled his eyes. “How could think my name is stupid if you don’t remember what it is anymore?”

“I know that I associated it with being stupid when you introduced yourself to me!” Dan nearly howled. The two were already butting heads. Clarence offered a scathing stare to Dan, to which Dan replied with an unnatural growl.

Elise sighed and facepalmed, slowly wiping down her face as though she had a headache. Clarence saw this and wondered if he had left a bad first impression on everyone. Since he was notably distracted by this concern, Dan lunged at him like a ruthless cat pouncing relentlessly at its prey. The men tumbled down the ground, pulling at each other immaturely, physical grappling at random parts like strands of hair and shirt sleeves. Bewildered, the others sought to locate which one was Dan, as he was a belligerent attacker when provoked. “Kimahri,” Elise spoke frustratedly to the blue humanoid, “Grab Dan!”

At Elise’s command, Kimahri marched over to the men rolling around, plucking Dan upwards by the back of his shirt effortlessly. All of the weight in Dan’s body was nothing compared to Kimahri’s refined strength. Scratched, hair messy, and pants ripped, Clarence was laid on his back, leaning on his elbows and staring at Dan in Kimahri’s grasp with extreme unpleasantness. “Thanks…” Clarence muttered coldly. He was still making eye contact with Dan.

Now that he and Dan were no longer rough-housing, Clarence flashed to the idea of feeling Dan’s unkempt greasy hair again. His fingertips tingled with the memory of the brief sensation of rubbing along Dan’s jaw stubble, and Clarence’s face became hot. Not wanting to welcome any more such thoughts, Clarence brought himself back up to his feet. “... Let’s take Dan and go back to the village. He should show everyone what he has learned as a summoner.” Elise recommended and walked away, leaving the room with nothing else to say.

Chris walked over to Clarence now that Elise was no longer near to monitor. “I am _so_ sorry.” He assured Clarence, helping him up with no further explanation. That was enough to tell Clarence that Dan’s behavior just then was no surprise to those who knew him. Next, Kimahri strolled out, still carrying the grumpy Dan.

“This is normal for him. Just don’t give it too much attention. Dismissing his behavior will help him unlearn it, that’s what Elise says,” Chris told Clarence. “But um… why did you think it was necessary to come in here?”

“I wanted to help the summoner, I thought they were in danger…” Clarence said with a certain defensiveness. Clarence didn’t see Chris as very smart or assertive, but he respected Chris instead for his kindness, and he felt that he had disappointed him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you got close to Sin a lot earlier? Makes sense though, you’re acting really out of it, like you don’t remember your own customs,” Chris joked lamely. _Well, I really don’t…,_ Clarence wished he could say, simply awkwardly smiling at Chris. The awkward silence urged Chris to head off too, leaving Clarence completely with the stillness of the dimly lit stone chamber. A chill shot down his spine and he decided not to stand here any longer, chasing in Chris’ direction. Quickly, like a frightened animal, he bolted to the elevator, and then through the corridor it led to. He reached the normal, carpeted, occupied, lively room of the temple and exhaled.

“C’mere!” Chris called from outside. Sighing, Clarence slowly and deliberately walked out of the temple out into the village center. Almost everyone who lived nearby had gathered outside together in a circle, huddling around -- _Dan?_ Clarence’s eyebrows raised in amusement and surprise. Unconsciously, he felt a sense of comfort, as his lips formed a humored smile and he brought himself closer.

“Okay, losers! Feast your eyes on my godliness as I perform the ultimate summoning!” Dan boasted, wielding a black and grey staff. He began to make dance-like movements, and Clarence contained a chuckle.

“Huh? Who was that?” Dan said, interrupting himself for the sake of his pride, turning around. Likewise, all of the villagers turned around to face Clarence too.

“Oh, don’t let me stop you. Please, please, grace us with whatever it was you were about to do.” Clarence condescended adoringly, ending this remark with a smug little smirk.

“WHY I OUGHTTA--”

“Dan...” Elise groaned. Chris yawned and looked around to indicate his own bored indifference. Deciding not to annoy and bore everyone further, Dan disregarded Clarence’s sarcasm and got back into summoning position. He swung the staff in a circular motion with a considerably higher level of grace than Clarence thought that he was capable of. Dan got to his knees and dramatically closed his eyes, turning his head skyward and opening them again expectantly. Glyphs made of light that Clarence couldn’t read manifested onto the ground surrounding Dan. Everyone “oohed” and “ahhhed” at the epic display of magical power. A powerful gust of wind shot down at the crowd as something speedily broke through the sky. A red avian creature with noble form and great size blasted over the heads of everyone, returning with a u-turn and digging into the dirt with its talons to stop.

“Th-That’s amazing!”

“So beautiful, high summoner!”

“You have just come so far sonny,” one woman said whilst crying.

Chris and Elise held each other close tightly, but not like impressed and happy friends. They held each other like as if it was the only thing that could suppress the strong hurt that they felt. Clarence saw their faces containing traces of pain, woe, grief. _What are they grieving?_

“I’m so good! I did it, I really did it,” Dan yelped. It was miraculous to the whole village as far as Clarence could tell. Other than the unsettling reactions of Chris and Elise, the general thing everyone did was praise Dan and celebrate his success. The powerful normality caused Clarence himself to congratulate him.

“Awesome,” he complimented with a thumbs-up, making eye contact with a disgruntled and embarrassed Dan. He swore that in the distance, Dan muttered a very quiet thanks. It brought red to his own cheeks, and he endearingly looked into the dirt. He looked up though, because everyone began clapping enthusiastically. It seems that the flying aeon was gone; Dan had dismissed the aeon to end his performance. Most people dispersed to head to their huts, except the priests who went back to the temple. Once Dan was not shielded away from Clarence, Chris, and Elise by a wall of people, they all gathered together.

“We are impressed, Dan. I admit that I didn’t think you would make it this far,” Elise said dolefully.

Chris droned hopelessly, “I can’t believe it. You are going to be a summoner.”

Dan proudly basked in how wrong he had proved their expectations. Clarence realized they had probably lost some type of bet, and now they were miserable because Dan would agonizingly rub it in their faces. He scoffed at the idea of Dan treating him that way.

“Maybe not a good one,” Clarence added. Dan’s eyes bulged so far out of his head that Clarence was certain they had been damaged. Elise stifled a giggle at the interaction.

“And why wouldn’t I be a good summoner?”

“You have no respect. It’s very unbecoming for someone with a role like yours.”

"Sure, at least I have a role, you forgotten melted-brain clone!”

“He does look eerily like Dan,” Elise whispered in agreement.

Although it was childish, Clarence winced at the word “forgotten” because he’d been thinking that same exact thing himself. His heart beat slowly and audibly as he fretted over the idea for a moment. But, not wanting to feed into Dan’s superficiality, he retorted, “And at least I have a brain!” Deflecting the same phrase back at Dan seemed to work as he quit the petty bickering and sat down.

“We’ll do a great fire tonight, to mark the last night before our departure.” Elise cut in, now that there was room to talk.

“It’s possible that someone will know you in Luca, Clarence. You should probably come. It’s the biggest city in Spira, meaning lots of people you can ask whether or not they know you.” Clarence nodded, touched by the offer, There was really nothing he could do but go, because he had no idea where his own home was, and Chris and Elise were leaving.

***

Nighttime had fallen, and everyone sat on rugs brought outside. Off at the end of the central square nearer to the temple, some kind of sports team was gathered. Dan was with all of the priests and temple-goers, but he didn’t seem happy about it. Noticing this, Clarence approached slowly. “Room for one more?” He got out. Perhaps it was a flicker of light from the nearby fire, but upon being asked that, Dan’s face seemed to illuminate.

“Stay away from the summoner!” An old religious woman wailed. Clarence realized he had been branded as a miscreant for his stunt back in the temple.

“No, it’s fine you old geezer!” Dan said to her, bringing a spiteful joy to Clarence. It was awful to be under the heat of Dan’s anger, but being allied with it felt great to him. Something about Dan was so magnetic that it utterly drew Clarence in. The woman looked like she might have a literal heart attack from the way that she was spoken to. The face was so funny that it made Clarence form a mean-spirited smile. “Are you here to apologize about earlier? Grovel to your high summoner? I am famous, you know.” Dan blabbed like a schoolgirl forming her prestigious hierarchy.

“I’m not doing either of those things. And I’m not stupid, I sort of figured that out.”

“I see. I just thought I’d let you know. So… are you coming with us?” Dan asked, likely referring to the departure away from Besaid.

“I think… I want to go with you guys, but I’m not sure about being dropped off in Luca. If it’s a big city, it could be scary to be there all alone, especially on the off-chance that no one does recognize me.” He confided honestly, rubbing his sweaty hands together.

“Um, don’t worry… we can…” Dan spoke slowly, trying to be reassuring but sick with himself in the pursuit of such.

“Are you being _nice_ to me?”

“NO WAY!” Dan howled, offended by the idea. But it was the truth, Dan could not help but feel an inviting warmth emanating from Clarence. From the moment he had approached cheesily, something in his heart was tugged.

“Well, if you were, I want you to know that I appreciate that.”

“I wasn’t.”

Clarence, unconvinced, sat down next to Dan’s right shoulder, gawking in a similar perspective. Visually, he absorbed the fire and the jovial people intricately socializing around it. Audibly, he absorbed the sounds of conversation and happiness, content footsteps, and the clicking of the burning fire. Emotionally, he absorbed the feeling of Dan’s passionate presence. Again, his fingers tingled with the memory of even briefly brushing along his skin. Looking at Dan subtly, he contemplated stroking his face. He just felt so starved of touch and affection that it was hard to resist. Eventually, he sat up, sticking a hand out at Dan to signify his goodbye. Dan pretended not to notice, undeniably flustered with the positive attention.

Clarence was preparing to walk to the Crusader’s Lounge -- a larger hut that housed a camp of warriors Chris told him to sleep in tonight -- when Elise grabbed him by the shoulders. “I have to ask you something.” She mysteriously told him once he turned around in alarm. “Are you… you know, you’re not hitting it off with Dan, are you?” She softly interrogated, requesting confessions that didn’t belong to her. Internally panicking, Clarence refused to meet her gaze, thinking of what to say. “Be honest,” she warned.

“M-Maybe” He stammered, unable to believe that not only had someone acknowledged feelings that he himself had tried to dismiss, but they coerced him into admitting it.

Her face said it all. A mixture of disappointment and pity stirred within Elise. “Then it is as I thought,”she shook her head, cringing. “You should… stop.” That was all she could get out. Something about it was almost like a warning telling Clarence to quit fawning over Dan. Like he should get out before he’s in too deep. Stubbornly, he knew that he refused to simply stop going after Dan because one of his friends mysteriously advised him to do so. She could just be thinking that Dan was too hard to be in a relationship with, but Clarence believed that could improve with time.

“I’m sorry…” Clarence denied, now making eye contact. “I won’t stop.”

“We’ll see.” She angrily frowned, stomping away as though something so rude had been said to her simply because Clarence didn’t submit. He refused to listen to some stranger about what was in his best interest. It was like someone’s elder relatives ranting to you about how to live your life just because of their “profound experience”.

Later that night, Clarence rolled around in his bed. There was some quiet yet also loud commotion going on outside. Heated whispers and murmurs outside of the tent. He slipped out from under his blanket and tiptoed to the tent’s entrance, peering outside cautiously.

“This is YOUR fault. You brought him here…” It was Elise.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t let him wander around the island and get killed by fiends,” Chris’s voice rang out tensely.

“Okay, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“Whatever you meant probably entailed that.”

“Like he won’t get killed following us around on a pilgrimage?”

“It’s horrible that you think we can’t protect him. What if he’s a good fighter?”

“What if he isn’t?”

“Now you’re just derailing everything that I say!”

“Maybe everything you say needs derailing! He’s going to distract Dan, Chris. If he distracts Dan, he could ruin this pilgrimage.”

“Distract him how?”

Elise did not answer.

“Elise, distract him _how?_ ”

She still didn’t answer. Instead, she promised, “I won’t fail Dan as a guardian because of Clarence. End of story. I’m going to bed.”

Chris sighed wistfully and followed after her. Clarence stiffly returned to his own bed, his chest aching. Knowing that he had caused that argument, that Elise talked about him that way, treating him like a detrimental liability… he felt so guilty that he breathed unevenly. Going back to sleep was proving to be hard as he brooded over the revelation. However, it wasn’t impossible; Clarence awoke in the morning at an early enough time, knowing he had to join the others in order to leave.

“Hey, you’re awake!” Chris said kindly, watching Clarence emerge from the Crusader’s Lounge. The attention and care paid to Clarence made him feel comfortable again, renewing his confidence. It was funny how Elise had made a worse first impression than Dan. “I want you to have this.” Chris hoisted up a majestic sword outwards, rotating it so that the edges faced Clarence and not the point. It was flow-y and blue, magical water enveloping it so wonderfully that even though Clarence had never even thought about wanting a sword, he loved it with his whole heart.

“Thank you so much…” Clarence cried, grinning from ear to ear.

Elise arrived between the two, unhappy with this exchange. “That’s the sword… you gave Chappu.” She was definitely pained at the fact that Chris gave it to Clarence.

“He never used it.” Chris reminded her, scratching the back of his neck like he routinely did under pressure. Elise nodded mournfully, turning away to the village gates and leaving in her upset state.

“She’s moody.” Clarence pointed out. Chris looked at him in both surprise and dismay. “What? It’s true.”

“I guess I just don’t expect that from you. You’re so much like Dan sometimes it amazes me,” Chris laughed, trying to lighten the mood. He handed the sword to Clarence, who then began furiously swinging it around playfully. “WHOA!!!! YOU’RE GONNA CHOP SOMETHING OFF!” Chris screamed, backing up a tremendous distance, to which Clarence goofily snickered.

“I’ll use this sword you gave ‘Chappu’ well. I swear.” Clarence softly assured Chris, beginning to walk steadily towards the village gates. Chris hurriedly ran towards Elise, Clarence, and the far-far ahead Dan.

Once he got far enough, something gave Clarence the impression that something was terribly off. Elise, who was very far away, was standing absolutely still, and seemed to be looking at something. Uneasiness consumed him as he trudged haphazardly forwards. That’s when Dan came shooting back past Elise, her head turning to stare at him worriedly. He collapsed right at Clarence’s feet. “Ouch…” Dan moaned, rubbing his shoulders that were now raw with friction burns.

“What the…?” Clarence airlessly asked, trying to breathe in his unprepared panic. Elise came jogging towards everyone, including Chris, who was ducked down in a little defensive ball. A humongous winged creature glided towards them all so threateningly quick that Clarence pulled Elise to the ground with him. It barely missed them in its swoop, readying to come back for the kill. Clarence bravely pulled himself up and stuck his sword into the air, holding it as firmly as he could, high above his head.

“Wait!” Elise beckoned fearfully. The creature returned like he knew it would, and as it attempted to glide into them, it was severed in two from its own maneuver -- Clarence’s sword now dripped its gooey insides, causing him to shudder spastically.

“Can anyone explain why Dan was alone?” Clarence assertively demanded, digging the blades tip into thr ground. Elise averted her gaze shyly, knowing of her mistake. Chris seemed hurt by the tone in Clarence’s voice, but despite how much sadness a hurt Chris brought Clarence, he didn’t want Dan to die that easily on the first step of his journey.

“I ran ahead, you idiot! And if Elise didn’t try to help me, I would have been fine!” Dan snarled, trying to soothe his physical pain.

“Dan, you ignorant, stubborn jerk, that Garuda almost KILLED you and that’s what you have to say?” Elise was still recovering from that scare, but she was still just as ready to scold Dan when necessary. She stood, brushing herself off, and turning to Clarence. “I appreciate that so much, I had no idea you could fight like that.” She admiringly told him, forgiving his character flaws and realizing his potential. The fact that he liked Dan meant that he was willing to wholly protect them at serious costs. That was _no_ liability.

In his own headspace, Clarence had drowned Elise out as he helped Dan back up to his feet. His heart beat frantically as he saw how badly Dan was shaking. Clarence knew that Dan was glad to be okay. “Oh, sorry Elise. Yes, I had no idea either,” he mumbled dreamily, not even taking a second to spare a glance at Elise, and instead observing Dan for injuries.

“You can stop staring at me, weirdo!”

“Is it over?” Chris whined, still hunched. Elise kicked him lightly. He got up, dizzy and traumatized by that encounter. “Clarence, I… I didn’t think you’d use your sword so soon. Maybe you forgot just how good of a fighter you are. Perhaps you were a crusader!” He offered encouragingly.

Clarence the knew the intention was to cheer him up, but he doubted the idea. For some reason, something primal in him activated at the prospect of Dan being in danger. Deeply, he began to contemplate on how he had been so driven to go to the Chamber of the Fayth. Somehow the knowledge that Dan was inside of it had been embedded inside him, lurking in his subconscious. Something had attached him to Dan from the very start, something had led him to this man -- the magnetic feeling wasn’t some illusion he conjured poetically. _I’m connected to Dan, I know him. He must be tied to my memories,_ Clarence deduced. _But then… why doesn’t he remember me?_

“Uh, buddy, can ya let go of me…” Dan bashfully requested, as Clarence has been tenderly holding Dan’s arm. Clarence’s face tinted pink at this, wishing Dan would think nothing of it.

“Heh, oops,” He played it off, completely letting go and standing a few feet away from Dan.

“I will be much more watchful from now on. Let’s hurry everyone, we have a boat to catch.” Elise commanded. With that, they all continued on the path, much more cautiously however.

“What’s a guardian, again, Elise?” Clarence asked. Elise seemed concerned he that he didn’t know.

“Well… it’s funny that you ask,” She looked like she was suppressing laughter in order to not belittle Clarence inadvertently.


	4. Disaster at the Docks

“Why is it so funny, Elise?” Clarence asked, focusing on the water that coated his sword.

Chuckling, Elise replied, “I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but you seem like a guardian to me.” The vague answer caused Clarence to frustratedly sigh, running a hand through his hair that had been dampened by sweat.

“It’s because you saved Dan, making you a guardian. Guardians protect their summoners,” Chris said. Clarence turned around and smiled at Chris, happy that he explained to him what Elise didn’t.

“I didn’t get ‘saved’ because I was gonna be fine. In a few more seconds, I would have blasted that fiend to shreds, and you all would have enjoyed some fireworks.” Dan arrogantly claimed.

Everyone besides Dan laughed at the statement. It was just so funny to them how he got worked up about any minor insult to his ego. _Does he really think that about himself? Is he really so strong in his mind?_ Clarence pondered about Dan’s worldview for a moment. Unfortunately, his thoughts were cut short when a glob of gelatinous dark-blue jelly rolled into view. It was shorter than Chris and Elise, approximately the height of a child, and it was very angry looking. Its mouth poured strings of blue gelatinous slobber out. The only non-blue part of its opaque form was its beady red eyes.

“Elise, it’s an elemental flan,” Chris said excitedly, “That’s your cue!” No sooner than when he finished speaking, Elise stuck out her right arm to the fiend, snapping her fingers powerfully. The creature was struck by a small bolt of lightning, its entire body heaving from the electrocution. As if pressure built up from this, the fiend collapsed with a small explosion. Suddenly, orbs of light appeared, fading out of the corpse and being whisked away in the breeze.

“Poorly done, Elise. There are so many things that you could have done better there,” Dan bickered at her, walking ahead smugly. Elise rolled her eyes and said nothing. Chris seemed pleased with her, but Clarence was the most surprised. Awestruck, he tried to picture again the exact image of the bolt of electricity that suddenly materialized above the flan, killing it so quickly. He wished that he was able to do something as impressive as that, as instead, he wielded a brutish and barbaric blade, whether or not it was pretty. Admittedly, he appreciated his own marvelous sword, but it was not as breathtaking as conjuring lightning with the snap of a finger.

Twenty minutes later, they travelled a great distance along the rather short trail. “We are almost there. Everyone’s going to want to say goodbye. Dan, don’t let them keep you,” Elise warned seriously.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Dan said nonchalantly, arms behind his head flippantly. Clarence realized that Dan, despite his attitude and immaturity, was very famous and respected. It was strange to watch people submissively praise and pander to him in some kind of hierarchy. He adoringly looked at Dan’s uncaringness, wishing the two of them would fight again. _Why do I wish that?_

“Up ahead. It’s the shore.”

“Oh, Yevon…” Elise prayed.

A crying little girl ran up to Dan, sobbing inconsolably. Dan looked uncomfortable, and lightly patted her head with a look an irritable look. Chris and Elise gently moved her away, trying their best to bring her to peace. “D-Don’t go,” She begged tearfully, woe so heavy that it had its own gravitational pull. Clarence wanted to go and console her, but they waved him over to the dock in the distance. A formidable ship awaited them, as did many people surrounding it.

“I am so proud of you,” A familiar old woman lovingly told Dan. He made the grumpiest face in an effort to mask his humility and gratefulness.

A courteous voice out of sight complimented Dan’s guardians, croaking, “You are all so brave and grown up. Elise, I have full confidence in you. You are a good guardian, and you always will be,” they assured her.

Elise, who was in Clarence’s line of sight, averted her eyes to the ground and smiled. “I love you, Elder Fenton. I promise to do my best.”

Someone stopped Clarence before he could catch up to everyone else. It was a kind looking child, and his parents. “Please, we want the summoner to have this. We were too shy to approach him ourselves, and we see that you’re his guardian,” The father explained, holding out a shiny, glowing ring of amber.

Clarence wanted to elaborate that he wasn’t Dan’s guardian, but heck, he quietly took the ring and smiled. “Yes, I’ll get it to him -- he’s so gracious about getting gifts, even if he doesn’t say it.” He lied sweetly, only wanting to make this family happy. The child seemed to smile so big at this assertion, swinging his arms that held his parents hands back and forth. “Well, goodbye everyone.” He boarded the ship, looking into the eyes of the group who had waited for him rather impatiently.

“Bye-bye!” The child hollered at Dan.

“Stay strong, everyone!”

“Good luck!”

One person simply cried. These reactions varied in emotion, but something about the reactions seemed off to Clarence. Everyone seemed to be so sentimental and touched, like they could not believe what was happening.

The ship began to leave the port, and Clarence watched the island as it grew farther and farther away. He knew the moment he looked away, the moment he participated in another activity, it would disappear completely. He wanted to watch the process. “Upset over Dan. I can’t believe that,” He superficially snickered to the unlistening ocean. After some time, he forgot he wanted so badly to view the island before it left sight completely, and he wandered away from the guardrail. At one end of the ship, everyone was gathered around Dan, who slumped over the guardrail in the moodiest position imaginable.

Dan -- he was so interesting to think about. Jaded, but by what? Proud, but of what? Annoying, and why? Persistent, and why? Dan’s personality interested Clarence, and not on the surface level of all those people swarming him. Approaching, Clarence tried to get closer, but tall and muscular men and women blocked his entry. It was the sports team he had seen last night. “Um…” He coughed, but nobody budged. He defeatedly retreated to Chris and Elise, who watched over the event.

“Why is Dan so popular?” Clarence worked up the courage to really ask.

“Sin’s toxin sure is taking forever to wear off.” Elise deadpanned. She caved, informing him, “Dan is famous by association. His father, Braska, is the reason anyone knows him as ‘High Summoner Dan’. His father was the last one to fight Sin successfully.”

“Wow,” Clarence remarked, finally enlightened. “Bet it’s tough… when your father is famous.” Chris turned to Clarence like he was stupid, making an absolutely confounded expression.

“Huh?”

“Chris isn’t very big in the imagination department,” Elise mocked playfully.

“Hey!” Chris said defensively.

Clarence laughed, “Thanks Elise, I’ll remember that.” Clarence believed the trouble of having a famous father may be imposing on Dan’s self esteem -- constantly viewed as a shadow of his dad’s accomplishments instead of as his own individual. The mere reference to his dad all the time probably makes him feel dull and insignificant in comparison.

Clarence walked up to the crowd again, but this time, he squeezed through them without a word. They looked down at him as though he were a disrespectful child, to which he wore a clammy grin.

“Hey.” Dan replied without even turning around, aware of his presence. “Can you all LEAVE US ALONE?” Dan turned his head to demand. Offended, the crowd backed away bitterly, complaining amongst themselves.

“Hey, Dan.” Clarence greeted him awkwardly.

“Hey.” Dan sheepishly said back. They exchanged a deep, longing stare without full comprehension of why. Unconsciously, their heads moved closer and closer together until they were in breathing in one anothers’ faces, touching noses. Both of them suddenly panicked with the understanding that Elise and Chris could see them, their faces terribly reddening.

“Whoa there freak!” Dan screamed performatively.

In the distance, Elise coldly disapproved of their affection, looking away with a displeased grimace. Clarence felt guilty about all this, and he backed up. “What’s wrong with you, man-cookie? Make up your mind!” He barked at a hushed volume.

“I thought you said that I didn’t have one,” Dan deflected childishly.

“Right, sorry,” Clarence said sadly. His heart beat in anguish at the rejection.

Out of nowhere, Dan was thrown off of the guard rail by some sudden shaking of the boat. Many people around started sliding towards the opposite end, and one person could be seen actually falling off. Screaming, Clarence grabbed Dan’s arm before he slid way, and held onto the guardrail tight with his other arm. “It’s Sin!” A man yelled from afar.

The ship returned to its resting position, revealing Sin swimming in the distance. The gigantic submerged beast was heading towards some type of large dock. “It’s headed for Kilika! Our families are in Kilika! Forgive me, summoner,” The captain cried, ordering several men to attach the ship to Sin with a harpoon to try and steer it away. That certainly wasn’t a good idea.

The fin above the surface of the water sprayed out fiends derived from scales. They were winged blue insects large enough to kill. Dan flusteredly released himself from Clarence’s grip and stood up. “Attack the fin so it stops spawning these! They’ll group up and kill us all if you don’t,” Elise wailed, shooting various elemental spells at the small fiends.

“You should summon that aeon,” Clarence groaned, the muscles in his arm burning severely from the strain.

Dan gave a nod of concurment, reminding him, “I need my staff!” Looking over at Chris and Elise, Clarence saw Dan’s staff leaned up against the Captain’s Chamber.

“Pray for me,” Clarence said to Dan before dashing through the mayhem, getting scratches, cuts, and oozing acid burns from the creatures. He hissed and breathed shakily, grabbing the staff tiredly, worried that trying to go back to Dan would double this excruciating pain that he felt.

“CLARENCE!” Dan cried responsively. “Just throw it to me,” He begged, not wanting to see Clarence withstand any more injuries. Exhausted, dizzy, Clarence threw the staff as carefully and precisely as he could. It was an unsuccessful throw; the staff was two feet away from Dan, resting on the ground, beginning to roll back in Clarence’s direction. Hastily, Dan lunged at it and retrieved it without coming between the scale-spawned fiends from Sin. He summoned the great large bird aeon quickly, swinging the staff at speeds high enough to send it flying. The aeon descended from the sky with a parting of the clouds, heading straight for Sin’s fin all on its own. Dan appeared to be aiding it, surrounding it with bright blue streams of light that revitalized it.

The aeon finally released a strong beam of pure energy from its beak, submerging a weak Sin back into the water. The boat shook furiously before everything went silent. All the fiends that hadn’t died retreated back into the water, freeing the passengers. “We’re alive,” Elise thanked, crying tears of happiness.

“Look! Kilika-” Chris tried to say, watching helplessly as Sin lurched horrifically to the docks and started pulling them apart. Homes began ripping apart and flying into a gravitational maelstrom of destruction, the families that occupied them being sent to their watery deaths.

“No…” Clarence gasped, witnessing a small child get whisked away into the tornado and being flung with such force that their neck would have broken.

Dan turned his back to Elise, Chris, and Clarence. Presumably so that none of them would see his own sorrow and pain. Just as quickly as Sin arrived, he swam away, having wrecked the greater portion of this oceanic town. Having taken the lives of so many. But also having strengthened Dan’s resolve to complete his pilgrimage.

The boat boarded at what little remained of Kilika Port, and everyone stepped off with caution to avoid triggering the now-impaired foundations to break. Running ahead of everyone immediately, Dan went over to a group of survivors. “Are any of you lucky trash-bags hurt?” He meanly asked. They seemed very surprised by his tone, but they solemnly shook their heads. Anyone who was hurt seemed to have died, as the survivors remained completely in-tact other than their hearts.

One couple wept at the sight of the swirling orbs of light. “Please, high summoner. Send our children. We fear they may become fiends.” The mother asked of Dan. Clarence was very confused as to what she was talking about, but Dan appeared to understand perfectly.

“You got it,” Dan agreed, clutching his staff tightly as he turned to the orbs that hovered above the ocean, drifting aimlessly.

“Send?” Clarence whispered to Elise and Chris confusedly. They were both equally exasperated. Chris unpredictably turned away to discourage the question, causing Clarence to feel guilt for his lack of knowledge. Taking pity on Clarence, Elise walked closer to him, and gave a weak smile.

“A sending is one of the many responsibilities endowed to a summoner, delegated to them by Yevon. You see, when people die, their souls need guiding -- or else, they’ll become fiends. Fiends are born when the dead envy the living too much to accept their deaths, whether they feel it was untimely or unfair. It is up to Dan to send them all to the farplane, a place where they hopefully find peace.” Clarence understood much better why the orbs appeared at the death of people and fiends now. The emanation of a soul…

Dan approached the water, wielding his staff serenely, a certain calmness relatively unlike him controlling his movements. He lightly slipped his bare feet onto the water’s surface, and Clarence almost blurted out a laugh at the thought of Dan sinking downwards. However, Dan’s feet didn’t plunge underwater, as he walked smoothly along it. Clarence was in awe of this, eyes glimmering at the sight of Dan meeting the melting orange and red sky, and the ocean reflecting the deep reds and oranges. Something about the colors of the sky and the aftermath of Sin’s attack was so violent, that an otherwise peaceful sunset felt insidious.

Spinning artistically on the ocean surface, Dan sent away the souls of the dead with passion. And Clarence observed his eyes, glaring with resolve, and shiny with the threat of tears. The threat came to actuality, as streams of tears glided across the sides of Dan’s face. Clarence wondered what made him want to cry the most -- the death of the children, the families’ reactions to it, the destruction of an entire town. He wished that the two of them could talk, that he could rub his hands over Dan’s warm, fluffy body and mumble comforting things. But that’s not what happened.

Dan finished, returning to the wooden dock remorsefully, laying his hands on the person who requested that he send their families. “You’re welcome,” He bragged condescendingly. Elise came closer to him next, hugging him so suddenly that he let out an, “oof .”

“You did so good, but ease up on the crying,” She teased.

“I DID NOT CRY!” Dan yelled, unsettling the mourning families. Once he saw their reactions to his outburst, he calmed himself down. “I didn’t cry, Elise,” He much more calmly maintained. Chris laughed now, and Clarence wanted to, but he was still focusing on the image of Dan dancing. Of Dan crying. Seeing Dan grieve the loss of people that Clarence assumed he never knew… it tore Clarence.

“I’m so sleepy,” Dan said under a yawn. Shortly after, a sequence of yawns from the others occurred.

“There aren’t too many beds, but I can surely give the marvelous high summoner one,” The innkeeper promised in submission. Dan grinned at this, happy to see his status gain him an advantage above the average individual. “And your brother,” She added, indicating that she believed Clarence was his brother.

Dan said flusteredly, “He’s not my brother!” Then he thought for a moment, before timidly caressing his chin and adding, “But he should get a bed.” The innkeeper smiled understandingly and hopped off to prepare said beds.

Chris and Elise showed obvious offense to Dan prioritizing Clarence’s bed above theirs. Yet they were not surprised by Dan’s typical pettiness. Elise grabbed Chris’s hand and walked away, making it clear that she was upset about arranging her own place to rest.

This left Clarence, who hadn’t spoken much of anything to Dan since the disastrous events, all alone with him. His nose and cheeks pinkened and his hands and legs trembled. He wobbled over to Dan, murmuring, “Hey, Dan-o. I didn’t know you could literally walk on water.”

Rolling his eyes, Dan said aggressively, “I didn’t know you could get any more annoying.”

“Annoying? That’s why we’re bunking together?”

“I’m only thanking you out of courtesy, don’t let it get to your head. I have a duty to Yevon to spread that courtesy.” Dan tried to argue.

“Oh-so-courteous of you to call those people trash-bags earlier.”

Dan made a dumbfounded face of surprise, forgetting such logical fallacy existed. He stammered, “Okay, the truth is that I need at least one meat-shield guardian in the room with me at all times. Fiends could get me in my sleep or something. And Elise is incompetent, you’re the one that killed that fiend back at Besaid.” The explanation actually convinced Clarence, and he remained naive to Dan’s shameful reciprocation of love. He was sad that it seemed to him Dan’s interest in him was limited to his capabilities in fighting. Unhappily, Clarence accepted this idea, and pursed his lips shut.

“What’s wrong?” Dan asked guiltily.

“Oh? Oh, nothing, _your highness._ ” Clarence mocked Dan lightheartedly.

“Loyal subject, I require you at my bed,” Dan tried to return the joke. After he realized how that sounded, humiliation manifesting all over his face.

“WHOA there, man-cookie,” Clarence giggled with a poke of Dan’s chest in adoration. The tension between them was comparable to a dream about falling; there was a sense of danger, but there was also a feeling of unreality. Each moment Clarence entertained their romance, he felt shame, questioning the presence of Dan’s feelings. Dan also entertained it, feeling shame, secretly unable to believe that someone sincerely loved him. As the two walked at a slow, deliberate pace towards the inn, Dan scrutinized Clarence’s resting face, trying to get an understanding of his feelings. The question burned in his stomach, his heartbeat rising in volume and speed, hot blood throbbing in his ears. Dan’s eyes traveled from Clarence’s droopy, tired eyelids to his bright eyes, from his large goofy ears to the damp strands of hair hanging onto his face, from his round medium-large nose to his elegant thin lips. His eyes went over Clarence’s unevenly distributed facial hair and sharp soul patch, to the defined but clean jawline… he blinked multiple times, the question building into a pressurized pain that he just wanted to release. Dan lamented the painful love, grudging the question that desperately wanted to come out: _Do you really love me?_


	5. Mutual

The inn was too cold to be comfortable. Dan hogged the blanket on the large bed they shared. The two had awkwardly settled in with a depressingly minimal amount of conversation. Reaching out to the air, reaching out into the _darkness_ , Clarence waved his hand around curiously. “Stop that,” Dan commanded. So he did stop, resting his arms at his sides and feeling one burn mark in particular rub against them. 

“Ouch,” He sounded miserable. Dan sympathetically turned towards him, using some easy magical spell to light the room. A luminescent sphere formed of green light drifted to the rooms center. 

“Are you… all right?” Dan asked, sounding uncharacteristically caring. Noticing this in himself, he stammered, “I mean, what is the big deal? What are you whining about?”

Clarence recoiled at the sensation of Dan trying to feel his burn mark. “Ah… it hurts there,” he laconically told Dan, wriggling at the pain. That information sufficed, as Dan hovered two hands above Clarence’s stomach, lifting his shirt. The burn mark was painfully approaching infection. Wincing, Dan drifted his now glowing hands over it, causing it to fade away slowly. Soon, only fresh, clean, healthy skin remained. Clarence’s smiling face glowed in the green light. 

“Stop making that face,” Dan said, making a second command. Obliging, Clarence allowed only a frown of longing remain. Longing to be known in the way he felt he knew Dan.

“It’s chilly in here,” Clarence acknowledged.

“I hate it. Stupid innkeeper can’t treat a high summoner. We deserved more blankets, or someone to maintain a fire spell.” Dan bickered with a flaming anger. The green sphere located in the rooms center evaporated into shiny green dust particles. “Lights out, peasant,” Dan demeaningly announced.

Healed and slightly more comfortable, Clarence rolled his shirt back over his stomach and tried to lull himself to sleep with peaceful, pleasant thoughts. “Where are you from, Clarence?” Dan abruptly asked. 

“...” Clarence’s eyes shot open.

“Huh, buddy?” Dan pressed.

“… I-I don’t know, Dan.”

Amazed, Dan conjured another luminescent sphere, this time one of a pinkish hue. Its colors spread around dormant and unmoving objects breathtakingly. “What do you mean you don’t know?” Dan asked, agitated.

Clarence sat up, a stomachache forming from anxiety. His guts gurgled apprehensively. “I mean it, Dan-o. I absolutely can’t remember where I came from. My last memories are of an Al Bhed named Dave who saved me from this creepy underwater building. I think it was a temple, like the one in Besaid.”

“The Al Bhed, around a temple? I doubt that,” Dan amusedly scoffed. 

“And when I came to Besaid, I was very confused about everything the people there talked about. I barely understood Sin, I had no idea what a summoner was,” Clarence anxiously confessed. “But Dave told me Sin’s toxin affected me, and that I’ll regain memory eventually. Since then, that’s what I tell everyone: it’s the toxin! But this place is so unfamiliar to me, Dan.” … His faced warmed in content at this next part, “Except for you. I recognize you…”

“Preposterous, you moronic troll. You’re trying to manipulate me,” He accused, his face enveloped with pink light portraying outrage.

Nervous, Clarence promised him it was true. He gestured with his hands frantically, admitting, “I feel better when I see you, and twice as good when I provoke you. I remember you and I wish,” Clarence stuttered, “I w-wish you’d remember me.” 

“Goodnight.” Dan boomed, exploding the pink sphere all over the room, effectively blackening everything once again. He rolled over and away from Clarence. Uneasiness crept upon Clarence as he tried rest in the cold room with this newfound pain. To soothe his uneasiness, he tried envisioning what the room looked like though it had been deprived of light once again. But doing that wasn’t so relaxing, as nightmarish things appallingly invaded his imagination.

Like the ghost of that child he saw, who was morbidly murdered by Sin. 

Like Dan looking away with chilling hatred because Clarence was affectionate.

Like Kimahri ominously standing in the corner and reminding Clarence of his existence. Wait, what?

Panicking, Clarence quietly slipped out of bed, noting Dan was already sleeping like a rock. “Kimahri? Is t-that you?” He asked, realizing to his startling amazement that Kimahri was really there, his eyes iridescent and unblinking. “What are you doing here?”

“Dan tell Kimahri to go away. Kimahri hide since, but follow closely.” The broken response took Clarence a bit to process, but he realized what he meant and took pity upon him. “Come with Kimahri… outside,” He beckoned, holding open the window of the room on the second floor of the tiny inn. Clarence complied, securely being lifted out with Kimahri’s help.

“How come we didn’t see you when Dan lit the room?” Clarence asked, straightening himself on the dock, admiring the night’s dark embrace around the ocean. It looked like an endless expanse of oil, spluttering subtly with the tides.

“Waiting until Dan sleep,” Kimahri replied. He sat on the dock edge, dipping his feet into the black liquid. “Dan seem cruel on outside. He harsh and loud. But his heart… is right.” Kimahri lowly promised, holding a hand over his own heart.

Clarence sat next to him, eyebrows raised in suspicion. “Why wouldn’t he just be nice on the exterior, then?”

Kimahri shook his head solemnly. “Some people seem so nice, it almost… impossible. But on inside, evil awaits. Dan like that, Dan seem mean on the outside but,” He turned to make a beastly, sweet smile at Clarence. “On the inside, love blossoms.” 

“Wow…” Clarence gushed, caressing his own arms.

“But…” Kimahri suddenly began, “Kimahri feel you already know.”

Flustered but impressed, and even relieved someone recognized his connection to Dan, Clarence babbled, “Yes! How’d ya know? I feel like I already know Dan… like I met him before and have been waiting a really long time to see him again…”

Kimahri nodded mysteriously. “Kimahri hope Clarence stay with Dan.”

Swallowing, Clarence said confidently, “A-Always.” _Why am I so sure of that?_

Pleased with the answer, Kimahri led Clarence back to the window with a beckoning hand gesture, and lifted Clarence inside. “Quiet,” He urged, gently setting Clarence on the floor, slithering away afterwards.

Lightly, Clarence stepped back to the bed, dizzied by the strange and unreal interaction with Kimahri. Slipping back beneath the sheets, Clarence sighed pleasantly. He was happy to be back beside Dan, absorbing his warmth in the chilly room. _I wonder if he feels me in his dream,_ Clarence mused, cuddling intimately against Dan. As if to respond to Clarence’s thoughts, Dan unconsciously wrapped his arm and leg around Clarence. Clarence grinned with a satisfactory blush.

Heat spread to Clarence’s thighs and he felt extremely inappropriate and uncomfortable. In his unease, he tried to peel Dan off of him, but it proved to be too difficult. Dan was somehow completely latched, as though invisible suckers had been stuck to Clarence. Wriggling Dan awake didn’t work; the man slept like an actual rock. Sighing, Clarence submitted. _I guess that’s how it is._ And embarrassingly, Clarence loved the touch. The sensation -- and the fact that it came specifically from Dan -- pleased him.

“Aw, my sugarcookie man…” Clarence whispered into the dark inn bedroom, caressing Dan intimately. 

“Huh…” Dan mumbled, stirred awake. As he regained awareness, his eyes shot open and his legs and arms released Clarence immediately. “Did I do that…” Dan faltered sleepily.

“Yes, Danny boy, you did.” Clarence giggled warmly in the freezing room, rubbing a palm along his own thigh. 

“NO, I BET _YOU_ DID!” Dan belted, accusing Clarence of manipulating his resting body. He yawned soon after and batted his drooping eyes. “But I’m too tired to do anything.” 

“Haha, okay, Dan.”

Within minutes, Dan returned to sleep, his light snores bouncing off of the walls. The dull echoes were haunting to Clarence’s paranoid mind. For whatever reason, he was filled with dread, and now he clung to Dan tightly. Fear had set in, bringing his heart to a quick beat, his hands sweating. Something unnatural occupied the room, he could sense it. Something absolutely horrible lurked.

Stabilizing his breathing, Clarence massaged his pointer finger into Dan’s musky stubble, recoiling at the linty filth. He suppressed a chuckle at the grossness and continued intimately feeling Dan’s facial hair. A feeling so cozy drifted upon him and allowed him the peace to fall asleep. Yawning, Clarence turned around, facing the nearby wooden wall, and thinking of the events that could happen tomorrow.

 _I wonder if tomorrow, Dan will be convinced that I’m cooler than he thought. He’s childish enough to be impressed with me, right? I remember he said I was better than Elise. To be fair… he’s ridiculously cold to Elise._ Clarence imagined giving Dan a sweet, deep kiss, and gulped at the thought. He finally shut his eyes in preparation to sleep. 

_Man, Chris is far too nice to be treated the way he is by Dan. I wonder where along the lines they even became friends. But for some reason, I’m so happy and relieved Dan has a friend._ Even though Clarence’s eyes were closed, tears accumulated inside of them in relief that Dan was okay. Clarence felt uncomfortable and uneasy, rubbing the tears away disconcertedly. _What the Hell is wrong with me?_

***

Morning came, and Dan shook Clarence quite rudely, giving him an abrupt and tight pinch to his cheek. Groggily, Clarence hauled open his eyes and groaned. “Dan…”

“Come on!” Dan snarled, seeming more animal than man. Clarence reluctantly complied and drooped out of the comfortable bed. He was extremely tired, still. It went without saying that Clarence wasn’t a morning person. 

“God, please, I hate mornings so much,” Clarence said miserably with his back leaned on the bed.

“Ugh, tell me about it.” 

“I feel like they should be reserved for taking hours to wake up.”

“Heh, agreed.” Dan grinned, stroking his jaw.

“Dan, I… ” Clarence awkwardly said, wanting to change the topic.

“Yeah?” Dan asked, arms crossed and face unwelcoming. 

_Ooh, I can’t ask him when he’s like that,_ Clarence’s stomach lurched. And like clockwork, his guts gave a gurgle. His face went comedically red and he said, “Nothing. Sorry.”

“Okay…” Dan said, embarrassed, spraying his hair with some concoction he had bottled in his pocket. A strong citrus aroma filled the small inn bedroom, and Clarence took subtle whiffs of it. 

“So, what’s on our itinerary?” Clarence asked, aware that Dan had a long journey ahead.

With a glare of offense and disbelief, Dan answered, “We’re heading to Kilika woods. Beyond the dock, there’s a small wooded island. And deep in those woods is a temple where I’ll pray for another aeon.”

“It’s not gonna take days again, right?”

“Hopefully not.”

“Didn’t you get thirsty?”

“I had a flask!”

Clarence laughed at Dan’s reaction, feeling as though he was Dan’s doting parent overbearingly making sure Dan had all the things that he needed. Getting to his legs and restlessly stretching, Clarence yawned loudly. “I’m so tired,” Clarence complained. Dan ignored him, simply saying nothing while he “groomed” himself. 

After about fifteen minutes, Dan broke the uncomfortable quiet, announcing, “I’m gonna go! Are you coming?”

The question made Clarence’s heart skip with joy and face brighten. “Aw, Dan, you want me to come…”

“NO!” Dan denied explosively, straining the muscles in his neck. “I JUST NEED TO KNOW.”

“Yes, Dan. I am coming,” Clarence assured him, slipping on his shoes and smiling. And though Dan refused to admit it, that made him happy. 

They retrieved their weapons and left the inn together unconsciously maintaining their closeness, not straying too far from each other. The innkeeper behind the counter downstairs smiled at them with hospitality, and perhaps respect for Dan’s status. Outside, Elise and Chris waited impatiently. Elise stomped her foot and vacantly stared into the distance. Chris wore a tired face to which Clarence could relate to. 

But once Elise spotted them walking slowly, she yelled, “Hurry up! We have been waiting all morning.”

“Please,” Chris concurred with a groan, just as impatient. 

“Look, idiots, as High Summoner I need my beauty sleep. Anyway, did you guys bring any drinks?” Dan said in a condescending tone.

“Drinks? No…” Chris responded frustratedly, scratching his scalp afterwards.

“Sleep? I don’t believe that sleeping is what took you so long,” Elise joked suggestively, much to Clarence and Dan’s mutual embarrassment. “Well, let’s get going, guys. I can’t wait any longer.”

Everyone walked at an even, similar pace towards the Kilika Woods. From Clarence’s current spot, he could see the towering green trees that marked Kilika Woods. He was excited to enter them and see all of the pretty plants. At the entrance, Clarence whispered to Dan. 

“Why did you tell Kimahri to go away?”

Dan grunted, “How’d you know about that?”

“I saw him.”

“YOU SAW HIM?” Dan screeched. “That freak is following us, isn’t he?”

Realizing that he had done was wrong and probably rude to Kimahri, Clarence grimaced. “But why don’t you want him around?” He asked, trying to understand better. 

“Hmph. I won’t say,” Dan whined, turning his nose up, with closed eyes and crossed arms. 

Elise laughed, “He’s upset that Kimahri has been ‘micromanaging’ him.”

“Dan, he’s only worried about your health,” Chris said in support of Kimahri.

Clarence was quite amused that something as basic as this triggered Dan to tell Kimahri to go away. “That’s seriously why???”

“Does it matter if he came along anyway?” Dan groaned.

“I’d expect as much, Dan. This is a pilgrimage, a sacred journey. It will… only happen once.” Elise scolded. To that, Dan appeared to lower his head sadly. 

“I bet he’s watching from the sidelines now.” Clarence sighed. 

Finally, everyone reached the woods, and the sight of grass and flowers was revitalizing. Chris took a breath, stopping to smell the plants. Dan was maniacally speed-walking ahead. Elise grabbed the distracted Chris and pulled him ahead quickly. “Kilika temple shouldn’t be too far,” Elise assured everyone.

“Good, I hate the forest here. Too many bugs,” Dan bickered pettily. “Not like Besaid.” Suddenly, Dan’s foot plunged into a mossy pit, and he yelped as he grabbed onto the ground before plummeting inside. “AAA! Help me!” He begged, kicking away at a spider-like fiend crawling up the wall to pull him in. Chris panicked, and Elise pulled her own hair without an idea of what to do. 

An intense terror surged through Clarence’s body. He lunged with his watery blade to the pit and held his hands out to Dan, but Dan was slipping too far down to be able to reach them. “Help me!” Dan pleaded with a wavering tone, desperate to be rescued. 

“U-Uhhhh!!!!!” Clarence stammered, stressed and unable to think of a solution. A primal connection to Dan drove him do the next thing he could do; Clarence jumped directly into the deep pit and fell down with Dan on top of the spider, yelling the entire way.

“Dan!” Elise and Chris shouted in unison. They looked into the pit and were unable to see Dan and Clarence, unable to see whether they were alive or not. However far down they were, it was concealed by darkness.

“We’re okay!” Clarence’s voice echoed to the surface. 

“‘Okay’? We are the OPPOSITE of okay!” Dan’s voice also reverberated up to the surface. 

Chris and Elise looked at each other with uneasiness. Chris couldn't fit in the pit, and Elise thought it would be unwise to go inside and have another person hopelessly stuck. So, with no other options, they sat down on the morning grass and moss, and picked nearby flowers while waiting, _praying_ that Dan and Clarence would be back soon.


	6. Dyad

Dan and Clarence had crushed the hairy, long spider. Its blood had splattered all over their clothes once they fell. “Ew, that’s disgusting,” Dan said as he got up. Clarence eyed the spider-fiend’s carcass, feeling a flash of remorse for killing it. Streams of softly wailing spirits escaped its body. “That’s a lot of pyreflies,” Dan said in awe.

“Great, Dan-o, we’re stuck down here. And it’s really dark.” Clarence bitterly complained, staring up at the hole that led them down there. “And I’m hungry.”

“This is all your fault, newbie!” Dan screamed accusingly with a finger pointed at Clarence.

“My fault?” Clarence asked. Approaching him intimidatingly, Dan cornered Clarence.

“You… you… you made me distracted!”

“I distracted you?” Clarence was confused, his arms against the dirt wall. 

“By getting in my head! Oh, why can’t I stop thinking about you…” Dan groaned, looking to the side with a sickly guilt. His hands still drove Clarence against the dirt wall, however. _Is he confused about something? Does he remember me too? He must, he must remember me!_ Clarence began to think hopefully. 

“Dan, that must mean you must remember me, like I remember you!” Waiting on an answer, Clarence felt high hopes. Until Dan shoved him into the wall.

“I have NO idea what you’re talking about, psycho,” Dan hissed. 

Retaliating, Clarence shoved Dan, his face hot with shame. He fumed and bit his lip. Thudding against the ground and wincing, Dan avoided eye contact with Clarence. “You’re the damn psycho.” Dan didn’t reply. He picked up his staff, pitying its scuffs and cracks from the hard fall. Staffs like his were expensive to forge, considering all of the pricey gemstones embedded into it. And the customized word "jerk" printed onto its handle.

“Hopefully, this tunnel leads somewhere.” Dan said, twisting his staff around and walking ahead. It only seemed to lead into one direction, the height just forgiving enough to allow both short men to comfortably proceed. He shot out a spell that allowed them to both through the nearby walls. Red outlines of large fiends loomed around the corner.

“We have to find our way back to Elise and Chris,” Clarence stated obviously. Dan ignored him, shooting out a familiar sphere of coloured light. This time, it illuminated the dirt corridors in a vibrant yellow.

“Those fiends want to find their way to their next meal, too.” Huffing, Dan stopped moving. “Clarence, I have an idea. I need an object, though. I can enchant something and make it to go on ahead. Once it comes back, it can lead the way! That way, we won’t be such helpless snacks to all of these fiends.” Dan suggested. It was definitely too narrow and too far underground to summon, as aeons were huge and emerged from the heavens. 

Scrambling in search of any such object, Clarence shrugged. “Uh, sorry Dan-o.”

“What about your sword?” Dan tried, really out of ideas if this wasn’t possible. 

Clarence lifted his sword up and looked at it meaningfully. Giving up his only weapon didn’t feel very wise. Yet he conceded. “Here, Dan.” He offered Dan his sword.

Appreciation took the form of a smile on Dan’s face. A pleasant sight to Clarence, even underground and vulnerable to terrifying monsters. Dan ended the pleasant staring, his staff surrounded with shining white powder as he summoned a part of his own spirit into the sword. Immediately after this transfer, he crumpled to the ground, crippled. “This hurts more than I thought it would…” Dan realized, balling himself up and sinking further to the ground.

Clarence felt bad for Dan, but couldn’t console him, entranced by the sword now moving like it had a mind of its own. It floated away, into the darkness of the tunnel system. _I better see it again,_ Clarence thought seriously. Soon after it was consumed by the unknown blackness, Clarence kneeled down to comfort Dan. 

“It’s gonna be okay buddy, I promise.” Clarence said supportively, sporting a confident tone. Dan was getting cold, however, despite it being incredibly warm. Clarence swore Dan’s body was growing colorless by the minute.

“Ooooh… oooohhhh…” Dan wheezed, trying to contain apparent pain. 

Frantically, Clarence pleaded, “Stay with me, Dan. Stay with me.” He squeezed Dan’s hand, amazed by how draining this spell was for him.

What felt like hours for both of them was actually twenty minutes. The sword clanged against the walls clumsily as it returned. Eagerly, but also tiredly, Dan stood up with his staff. “Did you find an exit?” He asked the sentience-endowed sword. It seemed to cut itself through the air vertically, indicating “yes”. 

Clarence knew it wasn’t over yet. He still had to push a weakening Dan through the tunnel. Constantly, Dan stumbled and swayed, his life force depleting faster and faster. Clarence’s heart raced -- he couldn’t do anything to stop it. “Please let us get out of here,” he prayed to whoever could hear. 

The walls seemed to glow more as they went further. Ideally, that would be because light from outside was touching the tunnel. And, in about a minute, they found that it was, nearing a very direct exit into the woods. “Okay! OKAY!” Dan stammered, dizzily waving his staff, and conjuring the sword back to its status as an object. Slowly, the relief and health of his soul being whole came to him.

“Dan! You made it!” Clarence cried in an unabashed manner, hugging Dan closely the moment the sword smacked against the ground.

“Get off of me, weirdo!” Dan snarled at him like he was back to normal, too. Respecting these wishes, Clarence released his doting grip around Dan. The duo scaled the sharp ascent back to the surface, stretching their bodies out happily in the open space of mossy trees and bushy foliage.

“Time to find Chris and Elise now,” Clarence repeated dully.

“Give it a bit. They may come to us.”

“Why wait? Maybe they anticipated we’d need to find them by searching for the woods’ entrance.”

“But maybe they’re out they’re looking…” Dan yawned as he sat down on the wet plantlife. Realization sunk in for Clarence.

“You’re absolutely exhausted from that. You don’t wanna move.” 

“Yep.” Dan didn’t even try to argue. Truly, his pilgrimage was nearly cut short. Spells that divide souls are incredibly detrimental to the health of the target. 

“Okay, I get it buddy. We’ll stay here.” So for a while, they sat by the tunnel’s exit in silence, giving themselves well-needed rest. Dan actually napped for a while. Sadly, Clarence observed him sleeping so peacefully. It was scary to think how much Dan risked with that spell. He wished he could’ve been a better guardian and gotten them out himself. Maybe he was a failure.

Dan snored, his mouth opening and closing animatedly. Clarence found himself nearly dozing off, lulled to sleep by the fresh air and peaceful animal ambience. But if he did, a fiend may attack, or Chris and Elise could accidentally pass them. He took the burden of watch, allowing Dan the opportunity to just sleep.

This time, an hour went by fast, as it was spent on leisure. Something Clarence came to know as hard to come by in Spira. 

Unable to sit alone anymore, longing for companionship, Clarence shook Dan. “Wake up, Dan-o.” He murmured softly, his lips making slight and gentle movements.

Flailing mindlessly, Dan reluctantly awoke. “Mmmmmm…” He growled, wishing he could sleep more. If it were anytime else, if Chris and Elise weren’t presumably worried sick, Clarence would have let him. “Okay. I get it. Let’s go.” He stiffly exclaimed, rising to his feet and rubbing his face to try and wake up more.

“Dan, what were you saying earlier?” Clarence asked abruptly, so relaxed now that Dan was awake again. 

“Uh. Context?” Dan laughed awkwardly, rubbing grass off of his fancy clothes.

“About how you can’t stop thinking about me.”

Amazingly, Dan’s entire face flushed with pink. “I n-never said that. I would never say that. And if you tell anyone I did, they will never believe you.”

Pride welled in Clarence’s chest. It felt confirmed that it was out of some lovesick foolishness. Clarence wanted to confess his own profound feelings, that he was still not equipped to understand either. Every time he thought he understood his feelings about Dan, other emotions would manifest and complicate things. Like he had prior knowledge of who Dan was, and had a strong attachment beyond infatuation.

“I’m going to tell EVERYONE.” Clarence teased, grinning as Dan spun around furiously and began incoherently screaming. Being helplessly in love, Clarence put his hands under his chin and listened contentedly. 

“LOOK HERE BUDDY! I am not in love with someone who dresses in my clothes and tries to look like me. It’s creepy, because you do look like me! That’d be like having a crush on myself.” Dan insisted, trying to change Clarence’s mind. It was too late for that, though.

“Okay, whatever. It’s time to go. They haven’t found us yet,” Clarence stated anxiously. With that, they walked through the woods, feeling as though they did so aimlessly. Every twist and turn led to an even more deserted area than the last. 

Exhausted, Dan panted and held onto Clarence for support. He swore he was going to topple over from overexertion, but thankfully he had Clarence. “This… isn’t… working…” Dan said between huffs. 

“Do you have any ideas?” Clarence sincerely asked, starting to worry. _Chris and Elise better believe we’re okay._

“None that would use a safe amount of my power. Most spells that would help would expend a lot of energy.” Dan explained, wiping away accumulating sweat on his forehead.

“Expend energy… ?” 

“Yeah. As a summoner, I have to know some type of magic. There’s black magic, which is offensive, takes extremely long training to learn at all, and is usually difficult to master. And white magic. It’s easier to learn, but the spells are all defensive or for recreational use. White magic uses energy to cast, hence why I’m so fucking tired.”

That explanation cleared up a lot of things to Clarence. Maybe why Dan was so especially cranky when he had to use magic, too. White magic was sapping him of his wakefulness. “I’m so sorry Dan.” Clarence genuinely apologized.

“Eh, don’t worry about me.”

They continued to walk and walk through Kilika woods, and they also continued to find no one. It felt like it had become midday so quickly, despite the fact everyone left for the woods early in the morning. At first, Clarence thought being alone with Dan was nice, but the woods were getting suffocating. Leaving and heading to the large city he’s heard about would surely be nicer. 

Now, the woods were annoyingly green instead of beautiful. “Maybe… ugh, but I’ll be so exhausted.” Dan mumbled angrily to himself.

“What’s that, Dan?” Clarence asked.

Looking up from the ground he was gawking at, Dan said, “I was considering getting high up in the air with magic so we could overlook the woods.”

“That’d be so nice right now,” Clarence said honestly, tired of the maze of trees and bushes.

Sighing, Dan shook his head. He agreed, but worried about conserving enough energy to pray to the fayth. Despite his concerns, he withdrew his staff from the sheath on his back. Dan then danced hypnotically around, drawing the chunk of Earth beneath his and Clarence's feet so that it rose above the woods. In the far distance, Chris and Elise were two blurry figures distinguishable by color. Dan and Clarence flew slowly to them through the high air, before Dan stuttered magically. And sent them flying to the ground chaotically, the entire chunk of Earth crashing downwards.

“WHAT THE--” Clarence yelped before striking the ground so hard he couldn’t breathe or speak. Dan, on the other hand, was lucky enough to be caught by Elise’s magical spell. A growth of vines she summoned caught his fall.

“Oh no, Clarence fell!” Chris hurriedly retrieved Clarence, and laid him down next to Elise. Dan approached Clarence’s body, wishing that he would wake up. 

“Dan…” Elise said in sorrow.

“Clarence, no! Please get up!” Dan yelled to him, greatly fazed. But Clarence laid unconscious and unresponsive. Shuddering in concern, Dan laid atop of Clarence, shaking him. Elise wished she could use some type of magical spell to help, but she only studied black magic. Nothing in her magical artillery could help Clarence.

“Why won’t you wake up?” Dan asked, his hands trembling and sliding across Clarence’s chest. “Okay, okay, I’ll use some magic, you idiot,” Dan tried to sound angry, but his voice was fraught with woe.

Unexpectedly, a large plant-like beast began stomping towards the group. Elise and Chris exchanged eye contact. They were going to have to defend Dan long enough for him to resurrect Clarence. 

“Chris, divert its attention!” Elise commanded. Elise would reach to the sky before swooping her arms down, a motion that casted a strong fire spell at the beast. It screeched and slashed at Chris with its claws, missing him by only a foot. Chris continued to distract it while Elise battled it.

Kimahri lunged from a tall tree and drove his silver halberd into the fiend’s core. Horrendous sounds unleashed from its toothy mouth.

“Kimahri help save Clarence!” Kimahri roared, haphazardly attacking the plant fiend. Its body was resilient considering the material it consisted of.

Meanwhile, Dan’s eyes were luminescent, changing to a shining platinum color. He was chanting some type of spell, looking directly into Clarence’s face. And suddenly, he brought his lips to Clarence’s in an exchange of intimate contact. It wasn’t necessary at all for the spell, but Dan accepted that death was a possibility for using so much of his own magical power.

Jolted awake, Clarence took an extremely deep gasp for air, noticing Dan collapsed on his body. He blushed and wrapped an arm around Dan, confused about what had happened. He dug into his memory, and wondered if it was some type of dream that he and Dan fell from a floating rock in the sky. After a second, he realized he heard clanging and screeching nearby. He lightly lifted his head off of the ground to see Elise, Chris, and Kimahri struggling to finish off some gigantic plant fiend.

He watched without saying anything, a feeling like none of this was real coming over him. His ears rang and his body felt immensely heavy -- it still ached from something. _The fall. It must have actually happened._ And then another realization hit Clarence. “DAN! Get up, now! You did NOT just use your power to save me,” He cried, shaking Dan to no avail. He shook and shook Dan, but got no reaction at all. Clarence felt like a statue, stuck to his spot, sapped of all ability to move.

Elise shot out one last magical spell, enveloping the plant in fire so potent it burned into ashes within seconds. She felt invigorated, adrenaline pumping throughout her. “Uh, Elise?!” Chris said, pointing to their two friends on the ground. She held her chest and ran over to them, lifting Dan up off of Clarence with help from Chris. Kimahri landed next to them after leaping from a tree. He silently picked up Clarence, who returned asleep out of exhaustion.

***

The sound of crackling fire intrigued Clarence as he returned to consciousness. His eyes opened and saw a spherical chamber, lined with statues. _Besaid Temple?_

“I see you’re awake.” Elise said, offering him a lift up. He took her hand gratefully, still absorbed in the surroundings. “We brought you both to the Kilika Temple. Dan still hasn’t woken up, though.” She explained, her eyes fixated on a burning torch, reflecting the lapping flames. 

“Thank you so much, Elise.”

“Really, don’t mention it. It was really hard carrying you two so far but… I’m sure you needed the rest.”

“You could’ve taken us back to the village,” Clarence said certainly, since he knew that Dan had fallen into a hole much closer to the docks than to the temple.

“Well…” Elise seemed unsure about that. “Dan needs to be with those who know healing magic, like the temple priests. He was reckless with his white magic and he hurt himself really badly using so much.”

“Oh no, it’s because of me!” Clarence frowned, mortified that he was likely complicit in Dan’s condition.

“Please, don’t blame yourself.” Elise told him, offering him a supportive pat on the shoulder. “You have done nothing to feel accountable for.”

Clarence frantically asked, “Where is he? I have to see him!”

Elise nudged him in the direction of a nearby priests’ chamber. Inside, two white mages observed Dan, trying carefully to heal him. “Damn, what have I done to you…” Clarence whispered, drawing closer to Dan quickly, much to the dismay of the mages. 

“You can’t be in here.” One of them assured him.

As though drawn out by Clarence’s presence, bathing in the dim, somber candlelight, Dan sat up. His eyes flickered open, and regained sobriety upon seeing Clarence. “It’s you, buddy! You’re okay!” Dan said, uncharacteristically cheery. “For a second, I thought I killed you…” He admitted tearfully. 

“I’m so happy you’re okay, too.” Clarence said to Dan, giving him a big surprising hug. Dan was extremely overwhelmed by it, considering for a moment how to react. He felt peaceful, and decided to return the cathartic embrace.

“Don’t scare me like that ever again.” Dan demanded jokingly.

With that, the white mages saw their work was done, and perhaps Dan and Clarence needed a moment alone together, so they left. Noting this, Dan said, “Clarence, I shouldn't have done that. I’m so sorry.”

“No, Dan, you just wanted to get us back to Chris and Elise. I’m sure you tried your best,” Clarence replied, recalling how scary it was to plummet from the sky.

“Haha, yeah, that!” Dan guffawed. He had been talking about the romantic kiss that he stole from Clarence.


End file.
